Ace Combat: Wings of War
by Axel Cratos
Summary: The Belkan War! The Allies are desperatly attempting to bring supplies to the frontlines to prepare for their counterstrike into Belka, but before they can strike they first need to gain airsuperiority. That is where the Osean Naval Airforce comes in. R


Prologue

_Operation: Zero Hour_

"Red alert, red alert, all hands to battle stations, scramble fighters"! The Osean naval fleet went to high alert when the early warning radar picked up a massive bomber squadron escorted by fighters approaching from the northeast. The four catapults onboard the aircraft carrier Kestrel fired at once launching four F-14 Tomcats into the sky. Within thirty minutes all eighty-five of the carrier's aircraft had been launched, a new record and was now patrolling the skies waiting for the bombers to appear once again. All eighty-five aircraft weren't needed to defend against an air attack but Captain Wesser of the aircraft carrier 'Kestrel' knew from past experiences that the whenever the Belkans attacked the Osean navy out at sea by air, they were always accompanied by a simultaneous submarine attack.

Colonial Miles Brown looked out his canopy window to see the Osean fleet below him. Thirty tiny white dots frantically circled around the fleet dropping sonar buoys into the water in hopes of finding the enemy submarines before they had a chance to launch their torpedoes. Colonial Brown activated his radar and over a hundred blips appeared. The four E2 Hawkeye's cycled through the mess and began labeling each contact as friendly target.

"Tally-ho, we got contacts bearing 3.0.3, northeast". Over thirty contacts appeared in the upper right corner of the radar and were instantly labeled as hostile. Captain Wesser's voice boomed over the radio.

"**_Alright, all fighters proceed to the following coordinates and engage the Belkan bomber squadron, all other aircraft hold above the carrier and await further orders_**".

Colonial Brown was glad he was wearing his soundproof helmet, because the noise from fifty plus fighters going to afterburners at the same time must have been deafening to the guys below. His F-14 turned sharply and rocketed towards the incoming Belkans.

"**_This is AWACS call sign 'Illumination' we're experiencing jamming to our radar_**".

Brown looked to his radar and saw the area where the Belkans had been was now blotched by static. Soon the image cleared and the contacts were gone.

"This is Colonial Brown call sign 'Baron' what just happened to those contacts"? Then the radar blinked again and the contacts reappeared to the _northwest_.

"**_This Captain Wesser, your orders still stand; engage the Belkan bomber squadron_**".

Brown brought his fighter around and headed northwest towards the new contact. The other fighters did the same, but all of them had the haunting feeling that something wasn't right.

"God, your coffee sucks Hans" The Belkan pilot complained and set his mug down after one sip "I'm not drinking that crap".

His copilot turned to him and sneered. "I'm not your mother, make your own goddamn coffee". He turned back to his instruments and the radio snapped on.

"**_Well done pilots radio silence is canceled, their fighters have taken the bait and are now leaving the combat area; proceed with the attack on the Osean carrier battle group_**".

"Acknowledge control" the pilot answered. The bomber shuddered as the bomb bay doors opened. A loud shriek filled the air as all thirty Belkan Tu-22 Backfires released their payload of twenty anti-ship missiles each. Once completed and the missiles disappearing over the horizon, the bombers turned home for rearming and refueling, leaving their missiles to do the rest.

"This is Colonial Brown; we are engaging the Belkan bombers". Brown thumbed the switch releasing two Sidewinder missiles after one of the Belkan bombers. The first missile missed but the second hit the left wing and the bomber spun out of control and plunged into the ocean. The other fighters did the same and the sky was filled with the exhaust of missiles. Several missed but others hit their marks sending five more bombers into the dark depths. Brown scanned the sky searching for a possible ambush, but none came. More bombers exploded in the distance and the fighters were now running low on missiles. Then Brown realized it, there were no escort fighters. "This is Baron, AWACS where are those fighters you reported earlier"? There was a long pause on the radio. Then a terrified voice screamed over Brown's headset.

"**_This is AWACS 'Illumination' we're reporting incoming missiles from all vectors, we're…_**".

The radio went dead and Baron saw a ball of fire fall from the sky behind him. "This is Baron to all allied fighters; cease fire and get me a visual contact on those bombers". An F-14 speed ahead of the others and flew side by side with one of the bombers and looked it over. His terrified voice echoed over the radio.

"**_Sir, these aren't bombers…their drones! we've been tricked sir_**"!

Then an emergency call came in from the Kestrel.

"**_All aircraft report back to the carrier battle group immediately_**"!

As a whole the fifty fighters turned southeast to assist the fleet. As Brown went to afterburners he saw a glimmer of light in the corner of his eye and looked towards the source. In the distance, twenty Belkan MIG-31 Foxtrots appeared over the horizon, heading straight towards them.

"**CONTACT**"!

Captain Wesser ran to Kestrel's CIC nearly bashing his head into a bulkhead on the way there. Everyone in the room was screaming at the top of their lungs to be heard over one another as the latest combat situation unfolded. But one voice instantly silenced everyone simultaneously.

"CAPTAIN, SIX HUNDRED ANTI-SHIP MISSILES INCOMING"!

The carrier battle group was comprised of eighty-three ships total; twenty-three of which were Osean and Yuktobanian military transports bringing in men and supplies to the southern coastline of Osea. Those transports were valuable and another setback to Osea's and the Ally's supplies would be disastrous if they lost too many more. Worst case scenario: the Allies would be forced to surrender to the Belka due to lack of equipment and supplies. Every ship in the fleet had seven if not more, missiles targeting them, and if they got through, every ship would get a one way ticket to the bottom of the ocean.

"GET THE AEGIS CRUSIERS ON THOSE MISSILES _NOW_!" Captain Wesser ordered.

The carrier battle group had four AEGIS cruisers capable of intercepting incoming missiles. The automated targeting systems took over and the cruisers began firing their missiles every two seconds. Within three minutes the cruisers expended their ninety missiles and waited. The missiles streaked through the air towards the six hundred anti-ship missiles. The horizon filled with hundreds of miniature suns as cruiser's missiles detonated taking several of the bomber's missiles with them. After a minute the explosions ceased and all was quiet. In the distance the Kestrel's bridge crew saw tiny specks of light heading towards them. Ninety-three of the anti-ship missiles had survived.

"LAUNCH CHAFF, BEGIN PHALANX FIRE"!

The air was suddenly filled with the noise of the fleet's PHALANX fire, and the tracer bullets lit up the sky, several missiles exploded but the others kept coming. Several ships including the Kestrel, blasted molten aluminum (Chaff) into the air to try and fool the incoming missiles. Captain Wesser gripped his chair and braced for impact. Three missiles exploded fifty yards behind the Kestrel sending twenty foot waves crashing all around them. The ship rocked again as more missiles impacted the ocean, but some had found their targets. The sound of metal against metal filled the air as the many of the missiles hit the ships of the fleet. Wesser never loosened his grip, waiting for that one fatal moment that would end their life, but it never came. Within five minutes it was over. Captain Wesser went up to the bridge and found broken glass everywhere. There were medics already helping the wounded but much of the Bridge crew had survived. The Kestrel had not taken a single hit during the battle, unlike the rest of the fleet. The Captain saw what he believed to be twenty to thirty ships sinking into the ocean around them. The others that hadn't sunk were listing badly and probably wouldn't make it back to the harbor. Captain Wesser turned his eyes to the center of the formation to see how the transports were doing. What he saw filled him with despair. Thirteen of the twenty-three transports had sunken. He took of his hat and made a quick salute to the men and women sinking in their metal coffins now beneath the ocean. The roar of fighter jets could be heard in the distance and Captain Wesser gazed out at them. He noticed only thirty-five had returned, including Colonial Brown. He sunk into his command chair when one of the bridge officers spoke up.

"Sir, the transports ships are sending us a message". The officer handed Captain Wesser a small strip of paper with big bold letters that read:

'Thanks for nothing Navy'


End file.
